More than a quarter of consumers chose to spend less with a company or took their business elsewhere thanks to poor customer service during 2016, costing firms over £37bn.

New research from Ombudsmen Services, which provides independent dispute resolution for a number of the UK's economic sectors including energy and communications, shows that 28% of people report losing loyalty for a brand after receiving bad service.

The report authors surveyed almost 2,500 people across the UK and also found that complaints against Britain's firms increased by three million last year, reaching a total of 55 million.

That is compared to 52 million reported during the course of 2015.

The research also notes that this is unlikely to show the full scale of customer dissatisfaction in the UK, as many issues aren't reported by consumers thanks to apathy and long-term disillusionment with customer service.

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But 79% - almost four in five - consumers said they would be unlikely to return to shop again with a brand if they felt a complaint they had submitted was handled badly.

Lewis Shand Smith, Chief Ombudsman at Ombudsman Services, said: "This research shows that much more needs to be done to make the customer 'king' from a customer service point of view.

"The problem is that 63% of consumers feel disillusioned and feel resigned to poor service, and no longer trust businesses to do the right thing."

The retail sector was found to be the most complained-about in 2016, accounting for 24% of reports, followed by the telecoms industry (13%) and the energy sector with 10%.

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But it is the retail, banking and transport sectors which are most likely to lose money as a result of poor service as consumers find it easier to vote with their feet against a shop or bank, compared to the relative difficulty of changing gas or broadband suppliers.

The rail sector is one which has seen a particular leap in complaints, up 30% to two million in 2016.

But as many do not have the option of changing suppliers in this sector, the financial impact on train companies may be more limited than in other industries.

"At the moment, consumers feel that complaining is often a waste of their time, because they see no change in the behaviour of big business," says Lewis Shand Smith.

"By putting consumers at the heart of what they do, businesses can prevent customers from taking their custom elsewhere, which is good for consumers and good for business."